Museums and Collections

Specialisation of: Arts and Culture
Degree: Master of Arts in Arts and Culture
Mode of Study: Full-time, part-time
Duration: 1 year
Start date: September, February
Language of instruction: English
Location: Leiden
Croho/isat code: 60087
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Museums and collections are in full motion now that their social functions are changing rapidly under political and economic pressure. There is increasing overlap between the traditional tasks of the museum curators, the educational department and the management. Globalisation and changing geopolitical relations have a major impact on the status of cultural heritage, including political, Legal and museological aspects.
In the Museums and Collections specialisation you will learn about the broad spectrum of ethical, political and practical dilemmas that affect museums. You will also be challenged to think creatively about sustainable, broad-based solutions.

Staff

Professors teaching the MA in Arts and Culture

For the complete list of lecturers and more information, see the staff page on the department’s website.

Prof. Kitty Zijlmans

Kitty Zijlmans

“The close relationship between art, science and material culture is key to the study of art history.”

“We teach students to take a fresh approach to art and to ask themselves: What is our own concept of art? We can’t just apply our Western concept of art to works from other parts of the world, which is what we have been doing for centuries. International art history doesn’t just consist of European and American art.

The basic principle of World Art Studies is that art history is an approach to art from across the world. We, therefore, take a global and comparative perspective.

For example, we compare Western art with that of Asia. This ‘global’ aspect is a must in the world of today with its enormous wealth of art production. Moreover, students also want to know how Western art relates to other art traditions. Also, science plays an important role in our master’s programme.

In the present-day, very changeable world of art, there is room for many new forms and concepts. Artists, for example, raise such issues as the extent to which man can be moulded, and they make us look differently at political and ethical questions. What does art say about the times we live in?

We also incorporate into the master’s unique museum collections in Leiden, from Naturalis and Stedelijk Museum de Lakenhal, to the University Library with its special collections. For us, the close relationship between art, science and material culture is key to the study of art history. We are constantly making cross-overs.”